The Old Man and the Sea Group

Question:

racegirl
racegirl
Student
High School - 12th Grade

How does the author use descriptive language and other literary devices to create the setting? Quote at least two brief examples

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Posted by racegirl on Friday November 9, 2007 at 7:28 AM and tagged with imagery, personification, setting, the old man and the sea.

Answers:


  1. clane Teacher
    High School - 10th Grade

    eNotes Editor

    Hemingway makes great use of imagery when he describes Africa in the eyes of the old man's dreams. He appeals to the reader's senses (sight, sound, and smell in particular) and paints us those mental pictures with words that make his writing so unique.

    ". . . he dreamed of Africa when he was a boy and long golden beaches and the white beaches so white the hurt your eyes. . . He lived along that coast now every night and in his dreams he heard the surf roar and saw the native boats. . . He smelled the tar and oakum of the deck . . . and he smelled the smell of Africa. . ."

    He also uses personification when speaking about the ocean. It makes the ocean more like a character so the reader can get a more personal feel of their experience and their surroundings (setting).

    "Why did they make birds so delicate and fine as those sea swallows when the ocean can be so cruel? She is very kind and beautiful . . ."

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    Posted by clane on Sunday November 18, 2007 at 1:53 PM